The AI That Actually Does Things

How to Set Up Claude Co-Work (So You Stop Using AI Like a Chatbot)

What This Guide Gets You

By the end of this guide, you'll have the Claude desktop app set up with Co-Work, a project folder organized, and your first real task completed. No terminal. No code. Just the app and your files.

This isn't a chatbot tutorial. Co-Work is an AI that sits on your desktop, reads your files, creates new ones, and delivers real work into your folders. Think less "smart search engine" and more "full-time assistant who reads every brief."

Download and Set Up

1. Download the app. Go to claude.ai/download. Install it like any other app.
2. Sign in with a Pro account. Co-Work requires a paid plan. Pro is $20/month ($17/month annually). Sign up at claude.ai if you haven't.
3. Open the app. Click the Co-Work tab. You'll see three tabs at the top: Chat, Cowork, and Code. Click Cowork.
4. Select the right model. This is the step most people skip. Click the model selector and choose Opus 4.6 with Extended Thinking turned on. This is the smartest model available. Extended Thinking means Claude actually reasons through problems before answering instead of rushing to a response. Always use this.

   Always select Opus 4.6 + Extended Thinking. It's the difference between a rushed intern and a senior employee who thinks before acting.

5. Create your project folder. On your Desktop (or wherever you'll remember), create a folder called Claude-Cowork. Inside, create four subfolders:
   Claude-Cowork/ ├── ABOUT ME/ ← Who you are, your rules, your style ├── PROJECTS/ ← Live work, one subfolder per project ├── TEMPLATES/ ← Your best past work to reuse as patterns └── CLAUDE OUTPUTS/ ← Where Claude delivers finished work

   Three folders are for Claude to read. One folder (CLAUDE OUTPUTS) is where Claude writes. This keeps things organized and limits what Claude can touch. If something goes wrong, the damage is contained.

6. Create your first context file. Inside the ABOUT ME folder, create a file called about-me.md. A .md file is just a plain text file with a different extension. Open any text editor and write these three things:
   • What you do for work
   • How you like to communicate
   • One example of writing or work you're proud of (paste it in)

   Don't want to write it yourself? Skip this step. In Part 4, you'll ask Claude to interview you and create it for you.

7. Attach your folder in Co-Work. In the Co-Work tab, click Add Folder and select your Claude-Cowork folder. Claude can now see everything inside it.
8. Set your Global Instructions. Go to Settings > Cowork > Edit Global Instructions. These are rules Claude follows on every single task, in every project. Paste this:
   # GLOBAL INSTRUCTIONS ## BEFORE EVERY TASK - Read everything in ABOUT ME/ first. No task starts without it. - If the task relates to a project, read everything in the matching PROJECTS/ subfolder. - If a task involves a content type with a matching pattern in TEMPLATES/, study that template first. ## RULES - Never delete any files. Ever. - If anything is unclear, use AskUserQuestion to ask me clarifying questions. - Always plan the approach and talk to me before executing. Never execute without my approval. - All files you create go in CLAUDE OUTPUTS/ only. Never write to other folders. - Don't over-explain. Deliver the work. Save commentary unless I ask.

   You set this once. It runs every time. You never type it again.

9. You're set up. That took about 10 minutes. Now let's use it.

The Mindset Shift

ChatGPT trained you to write better prompts. Longer prompts. Detailed prompts. Forget that.

With Co-Work, the game is context files. Take everything you know (your writing style, your company's rules, your best examples, your past work) and put it in text files. Drop them in your folder. Point Claude to that folder.

The more context you give it as files, the less prompting you need. The output goes from "generic AI" to "this actually sounds like someone who works for me."

One good context file is worth more than 50 random uploads. Be intentional about what you include.

Your First Task

Let's run your first real task. Here's the prompt template you'll use for almost everything:

That's it. That's the prompt. Let's try it.

Here's what happens:

1. Claude reads your ABOUT ME folder to understand your context.
2. Instead of guessing, it generates an interactive form with real questions: "How many expense categories? Do you want charts? Monthly or weekly tracking?" You click your answers.
3. Claude shows you a plan. You approve or adjust.
4. It builds the spreadsheet and saves it to your CLAUDE OUTPUTS folder.
5. Open it in Excel or Google Sheets. The formulas work. Change a number, totals update.

What Else You Can Do

These are real tasks people run in Co-Work every day. Click to expand.

Plugins

Co-Work has a plugin marketplace. Plugins give Claude extra skills for specific types of work: sales, marketing, legal, data analysis, finance, and more. Each one comes with slash commands you can type to trigger specific workflows.

How to install: Click Customize in the left sidebar. Click Browse Plugins. Pick one that matches your work. Click Install. That's it. Now type / in the chat to see what commands are available.

For example, the Marketing plugin gives you /draft-content to write posts in your voice. The Data plugin gives you /explore to analyze any CSV you drop in. The Legal plugin can review contracts and flag risky clauses in plain English. These are pre-built workflows. Install and go.

Stay Safe

Chat vs Co-Work vs Projects

Same AI. Three different ways to use it. Here's how to pick.

Where This Goes

Everything in this guide covered Co-Work, the tool for knowledge workers. There's another level.

Claude Code is the developer version. It runs in your terminal with full system access. No sandbox. It builds software, runs scripts, manages git, deploys code, and automates entire multi-step workflows across multiple systems. It's how developers ship code 10x faster.

Or DM me "PART 2" on Instagram: @themattycartwright

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